Lynden is recognizing employees who make a difference every day on the job and demonstrate our core values, Lynden's very own everyday heroes! Employees are nominated by managers and supervisors from all roles within the Lynden family of companies.
Introducing Robb Guro, International Agent III at Lynden Logistics, in Honolulu, HI. 
Name: Robb Guro
Company: Lynden Logistics
Location: Honolulu, HI
Title: International Agent III
On the Job Since: 1998
Superpower: Recognizing attributes of those around me
Hometown: Kaneohe, Hawaii
Favorite Movie: Wine Country
Bucket List Destination: Rome to see the Pope
For Fun: Canine Conformation (showing dogs) and creating art
How and when did you start working for Lynden Logistics?
I began in the Summer of 1998 as a temporary part-time, data entry clerk entering PODs (delivery receipts) a few evenings during the week. A short time later, a full-time position as Outbound Coordinator became available, and I accepted it. The job taught me how to route freight through the other 49 states in the days when all we had was a thick OAG telephone-like book for routing and a phone to make the physical bookings. We talked to a lot of local cargo agents to book and track shipments. I then took on Inbound Coordinator where we tracked all the shipments coming into Hawaii and planned the recoveries from the local airlines. We coordinated all the hard copy delivery receipts (with carbon between the pages!) with dispatch and customer service.
Then Lynden HNL had a reorganization, and I was assigned back to outbound. When we moved to a new office, I transferred to Domestic Customer Service. During this time, I started helping with the Guam consolidations. After passing up two job postings, I finally asked if I could apply for the International Agent position. I had no idea what I was in for. In those days, Service Centers weren’t as connected or under such cohesive managers as they are now. After my three-week training, I continued to learn a lot on my own using whatever resources I could find. I thought I would not make it, but here I am 10 years later. I made a lot of friends during this period, and I have a lot of folks I am forever grateful to. The work is not easy, but I love it.
What is a typical day like for you?
My usual day is going through email and answering questions, providing quotes to local customers, overseas agents and other service stations. I handle all of the ocean and air imports and exports for Hawaii. I have a bunch of international customers that have domestic shipments which they ask me to handle. I also provide some support to our domestic operations and customer service.
What has been most challenging in your career?
Balancing work and home life.
What are you most proud of in your career?
Building the Honolulu International Department. Honolulu has always been a 1-man operation. When I started, there’d be three or four inquiries a week, two or three shipments. The business relationships with our overseas agents, especially in Japan, have grown.
Can you tell us about your family and growing up years?
I grew up the middle child in a family of five. We were raised in the country at a time when we had no cell phone, iPad or any electronic toys. We played outdoors. We would have rotten mango or rotten guava fights. We played “stickball” with a bat and tennis ball or dodge ball on our street – at a time when drivers knew we were there, so they’d approach slowly and we’d move aside without giving them the “stink eye” because they interrupted our game. We caught fish at a nearby river to put in our aquariums. We also gathered stickers from weeds and had sticker fights. I refer to this as “good fun days.”
What was your first job?
In my youth, my first job was mowing lawns and washing cars. In my college years, it was working for a packaged foods company serving international tourists who wanted to take home food gifts such as ice cream, steaks, beef jerky, pineapples and papayas. I would have to go down to the airport and use my broken Japanese to communicate with the tour guides to make sure their orders were timely and correct.
What would surprise most people about you?
At the age of 23, I converted to Catholicism and was baptized on April 3, 1983. The Catholic Church not only gave me direction, but it also saved my life. My Catholicism has helped me weather a lot of hardships and brought me a lot of happiness through the last 42 years and it is, by far, the best choice in life that I have ever made.
How do you spend your time outside of work?
With the help of a local dog trainer, I brought in a Smooth Fox Terrier from Victoria, Australia. I named her “Ella.” Part of the purchase agreement was to enter her in Dog Conformation shows in Hawaii until she got her Champion status. I started taking classes to not only train her, but train me as well. The sportsmanship and “rhythm” needed to sync with, and properly exhibit, a dog greatly interested me. Ella eventually earned her championship and retired, so I started helping friends as a stand-in for their extra dogs. I eventually got assigned to a wirehaired dachshund named “Favor.” After two years of training and exhibiting Favor, at the last show of his career, we won Reserved Best in Show in Hilo, HI. I believe we won largely in part due to the help of another exhibitor, Nikki. I will never forget her kindness and generosity that day. This is one of the highlights of exhibiting that I look back on fondly.
What do you like best about your job?
The customers I have developed relationships with over the years, the Lynden folks – both International and Domestic – and having two strong international managers surrounding me. That is a blessing at this point in my career.
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